Healthy summer travels

Summer travels are wonderful. The days are long, the nights are warm, the sun in beaming, and the water is fresh. Trips allow us to enjoy both leaving and coming back. We get to see places and faces that fill up our hearts and tickle our souls. Yet sometimes we come back feeling a little rough around the edges. When working with clients, I often hear them state they will begin making recommended changes after their vacation. In many ways, this is understandable. Travelling can mean sitting for long hours, missing out on sleep, eating the food we are given, making do with what is available, and indulging as a way to celebrate. The combination of anticipation, expectation, planning, social compromise, lack of movement, and eating crappy foods can put us in crappy vacation moods. Read on for simple tips to enjoy the trip you worked hard for — and come back feeling better than when you left!

Planes, trains, and automobiles

Travel inevitably means spending time sitting — often in uncomfortable positions — for hours. Bring a couple massage balls and take this opportunity to release tension — place them under shoulders, hips, and beside the spine, moving them frequently but leaving them in place long enough to melt into your muscles and take some deep belly breaths. Take wilderness activity breaks whenever you feel the need to stretch or see something intriguing. Walk along a rushing river, go for a short hike, jump in a lake, or simply pull over and stretch it out. Pit stops are an important time to stretch calves, hip flexors, quads, side body, and low back. Simple neck stretches and shoulder rolls can even be done in the car. Listen to an interesting podcast or audiobook and get smarter as you go farther. Once you get to your destination, enjoy sight-seeing on foot (and the fact that you chose to wear comfy shoes).

Tea station

A stainless steel water bottle and a good-quality Thermos are key trip additions. Before leaving town, pick out a box of tea bags you love. Hibiscus and peppermint are summer favourites. At gas stations, fill up your Thermos with hot water and add your own tea bags as you wish. Collagen powder dissolves in liquid, is high in protein, and helps heal skin, hair, and the gut lining. Bring some and add a spoonful for a quick protein source. If it feels too hot for tea, make cold tea by adding some fresh mint, cucumber slices, lemon, or herbal tea to your water bottle for refreshing drinks prior to hittin’ the road.

Prevention kit

It’s a lot easier to spend time outside when you’re not getting chowed. Make your own bug spray by adding eucalyptus, peppermint, geranium, and cedar to a spritz bottle or body oil at 5%. Make your own hand sanitizer to avoid using public sanitizer with chemicals like triclosan, to prevent sickness after using public areas, and even to keep you feeling fresh and relaxed. To make, fill a spritz bottle with 3 parts organic vodka with 1 part of eucalyptus, tea tree, or lavender essential oil. Bring along a small bottle of colloidal silver to be put on cuts to prevent infection. A bottle of digestive enzymes is a great addition – take if deciding to indulge in foods you know are hard to digest for you – or when feeling the initial pangs of food poisoning as this can often prevent fullblown Montezuma’s revenge. (Remember to read product restrictions on label before taking.)

Ground yourself

Travel involves floating literally and figuratively. Ground yourself, reduce jet lag, and adjust to local rhythms by finding wild spaces, spending time outside in the sun, and walking barefoot on the earth. Make the time to truly relax (that’s why you got away, right?!), practice some yoga and meditation, play in the mountains or waves, and prioritize quality zzz’s. These stress management techniques can prevent all-too-common travel constipation.

Eat like a local

Once you’ve arrived, look up local farmers markets to take advantage of local, organic, quality food and conversation, followed by making simple delicious meals with them. While you’re on the road, if you have no edible supplies, don’t overlook the grocery store or local deli. A head of romaine lettuce, some sandwich fillings such as mustard, sliced cheese, canned wild salmon, or quality sliced meat can make quick and easy lettuce wraps. Other grocery store options include dark chocolate, trail mix, or rice crackers and goats cheese. If you’re able to spend some time packing a cooler for your road trip (highly recommended!), bring a jar of mustard, sea salt, and pepper. Boil a carton of eggs, cut up some veggies, make some hummus, kale chips, and a vegetable/quinoa salad, pack rice cakes, grass-fed beef jerky, sandwich fillings, healthy crackers (Mary’s are great), dark chocolate, and fresh fruit. Bon Voyage!